The Last Light
by NotSupposedToExist
Summary: Jack deals with a fate he can't change. He can't keep Jamie from growing up.


Winter hadn't been coming around soon enough, thought Jack as he roamed the streets of Burgess, carefree and lively as always. It had been six winters since Jack had become a Guardian, and he was finally getting the hang of the responsibilities the job brought upon him. Lucky for him, he could still throw in some of his own "snowballs and fun times" from time to time. He wasn't the Guardian of Fun for nothing.

Jack's grin couldn't be any wider as he spun around a familiar iron pole at the corner of the street and climbed up on it. A subtle layer of white powder covered the roofs in the whole town, and as the sun started to ascend, he heard the children grabbing their jackets, hats and gloves to have a bit of snow fun before school.

Before the young Guardian knew it, he was standing in front of an all too familiar house. Smoke ascended from the little chimney and Christmas lights hung from the roof all the way down to the porch. Jack smiled as he tried to imagine Jamie and Sophie's faces, thrilled for Christmas as they would be. It had been too long since he had seen the two, who had helped them out so much before, so he decided to wait until they, too, came outside for a snowball fight.

After about an hour of waiting – Jack wasn't the type to give up quickly – the young man finally caught a glimpse of long blonde hair in the hallway. "I'm leaving, mom!" he heard the girl yell, but even though he'd finally get to see the children, Jack was disappointed. All of the children had gone to school already, and neither Jack nor Sophie and Jamie had had the chance to play with them. Shaking the thought out of his head, he waited patiently for little Soph to come out. Of course, she wasn't little anymore; she was now thirteen years old to be precise. But every year she'd greet him with the same innocent smile like she used to. It made everything worth it.

"Hey, Soph!" Jack exclaimed as the blonde girl approached him, bag and bicycle keys in hand. "How are you doing? It's been a while! A whole year even, isn't it crazy?" he continued, but Sophie didn't reply, she just smiled and walked over to her bike. Curious, Jack followed her in a flash and sat on the roof of the little shack where her bike was parked. He heard her hum Jingle Bells and it made him smile from ear to ear. "Hey, are you in for a snowball fight later on? Like, after school, of course." Jack proposed, dangling upside down from the roof. "School comes first." he added with a chuckle. Again, Sophie hardly replied, unlocked the lock on her bike and hopped on. _"Bunny, hop, hop, hop!" _How Jack missed those words. "W-well, I'll see you later then!" the young Guardian called after the girl as she drove off without a word. _Odd._

As Jack pondered about this strange situation, a second voice sounded from beyond the door. The young Guardian chuckled as he noticed that it seemed like Jamie's voice had dropped yet another octave this year. He had also grown taller; Jack could see the boy's fluffy brown hair through the upper window in the door. He smiled as he heard the door open, thrilled to see his longtime friend again.

"Yes, mom, I know!" Jamie huffed as he pulled his hat over his ears. "There, happy now? I won't get a cold, don't worry!" he chuckled and waved at his mother. "Jack Frost won't get me this year!" Jack's ears perked at these words, and a goofy grin decorated his face. He would never forget how Jamie was the first person to actually believe in him, and it would never cease to make him as happy as he was back then.  
Once Jamie had finally closed the door – and pulled his hat back to a more casual fashion, much to Jack's amusement – the Guardian sprung up from the bushes to surprise Jamie, which obviously worked. "Jack!" the boy called out, face slightly flushed; either from the cold, or from the fact that Jack had just seen him care about his looks.

"Jamie!" Jack cheered and pulled the boy in an excited but clumsy hug. Jamie shivered at the coldness of the contact, since Jack seemed to have temporarily forgotten that humans did have body heat, unlike himself. As Jack pulled back he eyed the boy curiously, looking a bit disappointed. "You've grown too much last year."

Jamie let out a slight chuckle and shrugged. "And why's that?" he asked, taking his keys and walking over to the bike shed.

"You're taller than I am!" Jack complained, tiptoeing through the snow as he followed the boy. Jamie shrugged once more and unlocked the lock on his bike. "Sorry that you don't grow anymore?" he told Jack teasingly at which the ice sprite huffed.

"Hey, Jame?" Jack asked as he floated behind Jamie who cycled towards his school. "I think Soph stopped believing." To Jack's disappointed, Jamie nodded at that statement and sighed deeply.

"Mom told her you guys aren't real a couple of years ago, but we knew better, you know?" Jamie mused, trying to focus on the road rather than his friend. "But now she's in high school, and her friends made fun of her for still believing in the Easter Bunny."

"That's awful," Jack stated, "So… Soph doesn't even believe in Bunny anymore?"

"Nope."

Jack suppressed the vision of Bunny's face when he'd tell him about Sophie and continued to follow Jamie until they were at the school's parking lot. The boy got off his bike and was greeted by a couple of his classmates. Jack just watched from a fence next to the school's bicycle shed and sighed. If Sophie had stopped believing, then would all these children have as well…?

As Jamie's classmates decided to head to class, Jamie turned back to Jack, face slightly frowned. Jack soared over towards the boy and landed right in front of him.

"What's wrong, Jame?" he asked, clutching his staff in both hands as he leaned against it in his trademark casual fashion. Jamie just shrugged.

"Maybe they're right."

"Maybe _who_ are right?"

Jamie motioned over to the school and Jack had never seen him look as serious before.

"We're teenagers. We shouldn't be bothering with fairytales, right? My mom said so."

"What?" The words stung in Jack's heart like a dark arrow of Pitch's.

"Mom told me I'm getting too old. Every time I mention you or the others, she gets angry." Jamie explained and looked at the snow-covered pavement. "Maybe I am getting too old."

"Too old!?" Jack snapped. "Too _old_!? How can you even say that!?"

"But it's true, isn't it-?"

"You've seen us! You've fought with us! How can you just forget that!?" Jack tried desperately, but the look in Jamie's eyes told him enough.

The boy sighed and turned away from Jack, hands shoved in his pockets. "I know that… But…"

"But nothing! You were the first to believe in me, Jamie! In all of us!"

"I—"

"Haven't you always loved Easter? And Christmas? And snow days? Even now!"

"Jack, I—"

"Weren't you the one who _begged_ the Easter Bunny to come see you!?"

_"Enough, Jack!"_ Jamie snapped and glared up at the Guardian, who flinched back with wide eyes. With a sigh, Jamie's face softened into a sadder, more desperate expression. He hadn't wanted to hurt Jack's feelings at all, nor lose a friend, but this had to be done. "…Mom sent me to therapy."

Jack frowned his eyebrows together and tilted his head to the side. "Why…?" he asked. Jamie shrugged and looked down at the ground.

"For believing that Jack Frost is a person instead of just an expression," he explained. "She thinks I have hallucinations." Jamie looked up at Jack, who seemed at loss of words at the moment. With pain in his heart, the teenager continued to explain. "That's why I can't see you anymore. I want to, but I can't. They're going to think I'm insane."

Still unable to speak, Jack clutched his staff tightly, trying to take in what had just happened. Had the last light, who had once been the Guardians' last hope, gone out just now?

"I'm sorry, Jack. I have to go." Jamie suddenly said and turned away from Jack, walking towards the school building, as panic took over the young Guardian. Was this the last conversation they'd ever have? Would Jamie keep avoiding him until he… died? Jack couldn't let this happen. As fast as the wind could take him, he soared over to block Jamie's path, to stop him from leaving. But just when Jack expected Jamie's warm body to bump into him, there was nothing. Nothing at all, not even a gust of wind. Jack turned around to face Jamie's back, as the boy entered the school building, rubbing his eyes as he did. A sharp pain went through Jack's chest as he inhaled deeply, nearly breaking down in tears himself. "H-he can't see me…" Out of complete despair, the Guardian dropped down on his knees and fisted his hands in his snow-white hair. "He can't see me anymore…"

"And right you are once again," a familiar voice sounded from behind Jack. The Guardian's eyes widened, not having expected this old enemy, and he turned around quickly, only to see that the man had disappeared.

"Still far too slow," the Nightmare King observed to his amusement as he rose from the shadows behind Jack. "I see you've met_ another_ disadvantage of being a Guardian."

"What's it to you, Pitch!?" Jack snapped and clutched his staff tightly, trying not to look the Boogeyman in the eye. Pitch just laughed.

"I'm only trying to make my point. Children," he mused, circling around Jack until he was right in front of him, "are foul creatures, Jack. They can make you love them, then crush your feelings in a second. Even your dear Jamie was not special enough to want to keep you around 'till his death." He paused for a moment, smirk growing on his face. "For that's what humans do, Jack. They die, unlike you. Before you know it, you'll be all alone again."

"Shut up!" Jack snapped and aimed his staff at Pitch's chest. "Just shut up!" Once again, Pitch laughed at Jack's pathetic appearance and grabbed the other end of the boy's staff, pulling him closer to look him in the eye.

"We are the same, Jack. Six years ago I've made you an offer, and haven't gone back on it since," he told Jack softly, golden eyes meeting blue ones. "You can still join me instead, might you be interested."

Jack bit his lip hard as he tried to get his staff free from the Boogeyman's grip, but it was no use. All that had happened today, and had been happening for a while now, was he really the cause of it? Jamie had to go into therapy because of him. Was being a Guardian worth all of this?

As Jack's grip weakened and Pitch's smirk grew, a flash of a flying object was seen in the sky behind the Nightmare King, getting closer, closer, until it made harsh contact with Pitch's skull. The Boogeyman cried out in pain and let go of Jack's staff. Jack, completely in confusion, looked at the object, recognizing it immediately. "Bunny…"

Even quicker than his boomerang, Bunnymund indeed showed up, giving Jack a harsh shove to the chest which made him topple over. He then focused his attention back to the Boogeyman, who lay on the ground, hands clutching his head. "Give it up, Pitch. It ain't gon' work." he told the man, taking a brightly coloured egg out of his pocket. "You'd better take yer leave, mate."

Jack watched as Pitch got back upon his feet quickly and ran off, unable to fight two Guardians at once. He got up slowly, dusting some snow off his clothes and walked up to Bunnymund. "The shove was uncalled for." he joked, but Bunny couldn't laugh about it.

"Can you never take care o' yerself?" he asked Jack, avoiding his eyes and bending down to pick up his precious boomerang. Jack huffed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm irresponsible. Not my fault Pitch showed up here."

"Yeah, it is. He could feel yer fear, mate."

"My what now?" Jack asked, lips quickly forming a pout. "Me? Afraid of him? It's been six years, Bunny. Then again, I'm stronger than him."

Bunnymund twitched his ears and sighed, walking over to the younger Guardian. Suddenly, he grasped onto Jack's collar and lifted him up slightly so he could look at him, eyes more serious than ever. "You're afraid to be left alone again, aren't ya?"

Jack's face grew another shade paler at the words and he looked away in defeat. "After all these years…" he mused as he took Bunnymund's paws to make him let go of him. "Jamie stopped believing. Soph too." he finally told his fellow Guardian, showing him a sympathetic face. "I'm sorry, Bunny."

Bunnymund huffed and let go of Jack in order to hide his sad expression. "I knew already." he replied in a hoarse voice, walking away from Jack. "Just didn't wanna believe it 'till I saw it with my own eyes."

"So you went to see her…?" Jack asked, following the taller man slowly. Bunnymund nodded and sniffed, and Jack knew he was trying to hold back tears.

"Little anklebiter walked right through me." Bunnymund told him, almost whispering, tears stinging in his eyes. For a little while they were silent and looked at the school from a distance. A school full of children who did not believe anymore. It depressed Jack even more than the events of today.

"That's just how it goes, mate." Bunnymund's words woke Jack from his thoughts and he looked up at the fellow Guardian. "Children grow up, become adults. Nothin' you can do 'bout it, mate. Nothin' at all…"

Jack sighed and put a hand on Bunny's furry shoulder; awkwardly trying to comfort him. The price of being a Guardian, was it this lonely existence? But as he felt Bunnymund's shoulder twitch slightly under his palm, he knew. He'd never be alone.


End file.
